The fun part of reaching this stage is that you get to hear it play its first note as part of the testing process. Yes, it sounded just like a TB-303.

Cuteness: we haz it.

It’s a utility module that can add, subtract and scale signals. It also generates the minimum and maximum values of a pair of signals. While describing it to Chris I called it a “CV processor module thingy” which he thought was a perfect name, but that didn’t quite fit on the 1U panel.

I’ve just uploaded a bunch of photos of flowers to my flickr site here. I added them to a set I posted earlier so some of them you may have seen before. I’ll probably put up at least one more set of photos of the dahlias since they’ll probably keep blooming for several more weeks.

Incidentally, to give credit where credit’s due, Tracie took some of these photos.

Our kittens now have the run of the house. Generally speaking things are going quite smoothly, although they have displayed a fondness for chewing through small wires. This meant that I had to spend some time jacketing all of the wires on all of the wall warts in the office/studio with plastic tubing so that their teething activities wouldn’t sever the power cords of the wi-fi router, the Ethernet switches, etc.

All of the adult cats have accepted their presence gracefully. Zed and Alfred have been more or less indifferent about them since they spotted them; now Zed plays with them occasionally and Alfred grooms them when they’re within reach. (Alfred grooms anyone when they’re within reach.) Edwin felt compelled to hiss and slap them around a bit for a couple of days, but it didn’t take him long to realize that they were more entertaining than threatening. Shortly after that I think he realized that they have more energy than he does. Madeline seems to think that they still need the occasional whack on the head but maybe she’s just trying to take on the role of the responsible adult.

I put up a number of photos here. Many of them were taken while they were still confined to the kitchen. They’re not easy photographic subjects; when they’re not sleeping, they’re moving. Video does a better job of portraying them:

Now, if the keyboard has failed, how is pressing… Never mind.

Axon is available now at the Audio Damage website. Click here to visit the product page where you can listen to audio demos and get yourself one of your own for only $59.

So, without further ado, allow me to introduce Garrus and Tali:

They’re siblings, obviously; Garrus is male and Tali is female (should you not be aware of their slightly obscure namesakes). They’re somewhat easier to tell apart than this photo suggests. Tali has some pale tortoise-shell-like markings and a distinct light dot on the top of her head, whereas Garrus is pretty much straightforward tabby in shades of grey. Yes, they’re just as cute as all get-out. I’ve put up a few pictures on my Flickr site here; more, and video, will come soon. Video probably does them more justice at this age since they’re almost always in motion.

Currently they’re dwelling in the half-bath and kitchen as we need to introduce them to the rest of the household gradually. We’re also making a token effort to isolate them from the rest of the clowder for awhile to make sure that they don’t pass along any kitty sniffles or other illnesses. Hence the photos are taken in somewhat cramped locations and poor lighting. I don’t think that these drawbacks diminish their cute factor, however.